Category: Games

Forming a Connection

Towards the end of the trailer, we see Cliff emerging from a pool of water in a jungle, wearing a Gulf War-era US military uniform. This scene features VO from Higgs, lamenting on the current struggle in fragmented America, stating: “It’s so hard to form connections when you can’t shake hands.” However, he hints that he may have some help from “the other side.”

Cliff lights a cigarette by pointing it up–it lights instantly. He then summons a squad of undead soldiers, all wearing the same gear he is. Their glowing eyes shine in the darkness. Cliff tosses the cigarette into the water, igniting the surface around them. They remain unharmed and move out shortly after.

This scene is another call back to another trailer from 2016. Though Cliff’s allegiances are still unclear, he’s still able to command the dead for his ends, making him a potentially powerful adversary.

Given the number of Star Wars movies that we’ve seen in recent years, it’s a bit surprising how little there has been in the way of new Star Wars games for consoles and PCs. Outside of 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II, things have been quiet, but that changes later this year with the release of Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order.

The new game is developed by Respawn Entertainment, the studio responsible for Titanfall and Apex Legends. That’s an exciting pitch in its own right, and we’ll be learning much more about what to expect soon, as publisher Electronic Arts has promised to showcase the game during its pre-E3 2019 event, EA Play, which takes place June 8-9. Below, we’ve rounded up all of the information we’ve heard about the game so far, as well as some of the things we’re hoping to see from the game’s EA Play presence.

What We Know

As we have not yet seen any gameplay from Jedi Fallen Order, there’s a very limited amount of information we have. We were expecting to learn a lot about the game during its Star Wars Celebration panel, but that ultimately yielded only a story trailer and a minimal amount of information about how it’s a third-person action-adventure game. That said, Respawn boss Vince Zampella offered up some news that was received with applause and cheers from those in attendance: Jedi Fallen Order is single-player only and does not feature any microtransactions. “It’s a story game,” as he put it.

That story takes place between Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope. It centers around a young Jedi Padawan named Cal Kestis (played by Gotham’s Cameron Monaghan) who survived Order 66, Emperor Palpatine’s attempt to eliminate all of the Jedi after he establishes the Empire. This turns Kestis into a fugitive hunted by the Inquisitors. He’s intent on both completing his Jedi training and reestablishing the Jedi Order.

Jedi Fallen Order introduces a variety of new locations for Star Wars, including the planet Bracca, where we first find Cal hiding from the Empire. Over the course of the game, we’ll see some existing characters to complement the newcomers, including a companion named Cere, the droid BD-1, and Second Sister, an elite Inquisitor.

As for how things play, that remains a big question mark. Jedi Fallen Order was, unlike the vast majority of EA’s games, built using the Unreal Engine, rather than Frostbite. Respawn has used the phrase “thoughtful combat” to describe how the action plays out, and we know you’ll get to use both Force powers and a lightsaber, the latter of which evolves in some manner over the course of the game.

Jedi Fallen Order’s release date is set for November 15 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Pre-orders are already live.

What’s Confirmed For E3 2019?

EA has remained very non-specific about what we can expect from EA Play in general. For Jedi Fallen Order, it’s only promised an “inside look.” It’ll be among the games to get a dedicated livestream on Saturday, June 8; the company is forgoing a traditional press conference in favor of a longer broadcast where each game is featured for about 30 minutes. Jedi Fallen Order is scheduled for the first slot on June 8, at 9:30 AM PT / 12:30 PM ET / 5:30 PM BST (2:30 AM AET on June 9).

What We Want

Given Respawn’s pedigree, the expectations for Jedi Fallen Order are understandably high. But we still don’t know what the game looks like in action, so a close look at gameplay is an obvious must for its EA Play showing. Specifically, what does the “thoughtful combat” that Respawn has touted actually mean in practice? The studio suggested it means you can’t button-mash your way through a fight, but does that just mean the game is difficult, or that enemies have specific weaknesses that need to be exploited? And how exactly does your lightsaber evolve, and does that mean players’ experiences could vary in a significant way?

It would also be welcome to get some insight into how Respawn deals with the tricky task of presenting a challenging experience while still making you feel like a powerful Jedi. The Force Unleashed (a game Respawn could borrow from), for instance, allowed you to become incredibly powerful by the end of the game, but you were also suddenly dealing with such strong enemies that your cool abilities were rendered somewhat ineffective.

We’re also interested to get a firmer grasp on the story Jedi Fallen Order tells and why it matters. The Jedi Order isn’t rebuilt during the original trilogy, so how do you tell a compelling story during this time period if your actions may not end up having any impact?

One thing we don’t want to see: Any of the big characters, like the Skywalkers, Yoda, or Darth Vader. There are plenty of fun characters to bring into the mix, but we don’t need Cal to somehow happen upon the most famous characters in the galaxy. And whomever those returning characters are–save them for the game. Don’t spoil any surprises for the sake of adding some excitement to a trailer.

Sometimes when you’re making movies, dealing with the “big personalities” of your actors is just par for the course–but when you’re making a movie populated by giant monsters, it can become a very literal task, very fast. Not only did Michael Doughtery, director of Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, have to juggle four different massive kaiju as they rampaged around the world, he had to figure out how to make them each come across with their own individuality and character.

Thankfully, Doughtery had plenty of source material to build from. “Their personalities all came from the classic movies,” he explained to GameSpot in during the Godzilla: King Of The Monsters press junket in Los Angeles. “They all really came through to me as a kid–specifically in Ghidorah, The Three Headed Monster. That was the first time I remember feeling like I got a glimpse of their inner worlds.”

The movie, released in 1964, introduced King Ghidorah to the Toho Kaiju pantheon as a major threat. “There’s this really amazing scene where Larval Mothra goes to Rodan and Godzilla and says, “Hey. This King Ghidorah guy just showed up. We need to team up to fight against him,” Doughtery continued. “The creatures are literally having a conversation with each other while off to the side, Mothra’s priestesses, the twins, are translating for the humans. There’s so much going on in this scene and I’ll never forget the subtitles basically explaining that Mothra wanted to do the right thing because she believes in protecting the planet at all costs. And Rodan and Godzilla were like, “Why should we care? Why should we care about humans? All they do is bully us.” And that blew my mind as a kid because suddenly you had a glimpse into the point of view of these monsters. [It made me realize] the way that they saw us as monsters while they’re just trying to live their lives. And that’s what they’re fully entitled to do. So I just wanted to make sure that the personality traits that existed in all the past films came through in this one.”

So what, exactly, are those personalities? Doughtery laughed. “Ghidorah is an absolute monstrous bully who seeks the throne, seeks the crown. He wants to be the alpha predator. And Mothra is a much more maternal and divine presence. Very protective and nurturing but she can still throw down with the big boys. And that Rodan is kind of this rogue in that he’s unpredictable. You don’t know who he’s going to follow or fight. But he’s willing to fight at the drop of a hat.”

Ghidorah, specifically, was a challenge given his status as the film’s main villain. The giant, alien, three-headed dragon has the unique ability to regenerate heads that have been severed–but that doesn’t mean his personalities get to change every time a new limb is regrown. “I’m fascinated with how cephalopods, octopi especially, all of their neurons and brain cells aren’t concentrated in the brain. Theoretically, if you chopped off Ghidorah’s head the new head would regenerate using the DNA and brain cells that exist elsewhere in the body. […] So new Ghidorah heads have the same personality as the old ones.”

Every part of Ghidorah’s modern design process was built around the idea of making him look and feel like the “playground bully” he is. “His sound is so unique,” Doughtery explained, “His very particular trill, his cackle, I wanted to make sure we got that right. Because even the old movies, it’s simple but very unnerving–it’s got a dash of nails-on-a-chalkboard, it’s so atypical of what you’d think a dragon would sound like. It’s almost mocking. It’s kind of like mocking laughter.”

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters hits theaters on May 31.